Remembering the centenary of the Great War

Events and projects to remember the First World War and the stories of those who lived through it

Postcard showing the 5th Northern General Hospital headquarters, now the Fielding Johnson Building.

2014 marks the centenary of the Great War, a conflict in which over 16 million people lost their lives.

To commemorate the Great War, the University is involved in a series of events and projects highlighting the sacrifices made during the conflict and paying tribute to those who gave their lives for the war:

Dr Sally Horrocks and Colin Hyde from the School of History have been involved in a project with local BBC radio stations that has created hundreds of radio programmes telling stories of the Home Front in Britain during the Great War. In a separate project, Colin will be working with volunteers to use over 200 oral histories of local people to tell the story of Leicester and Leicestershire during the Great War.

A dictionary of slang words from the trenches entitled The Lingo of No Man’s Land has been republished by the British Library with a new introduction by Professor Julie Coleman from the School of English. She will be talking about the dictionary at the ‘Languages and the First World War’ conference in Antwerp on Wednesday 18 June and at the British Library on Friday 20 June, where studies into changes within languages and how languages influenced each other during the war will be discussed.

At the Summer Reunion Open Day 2014 on Saturday 28 June, Dr Horrocks will talk about the history of how the University’s buildings were used as a field hospital during the Great War. The annual day for graduates and their families will include displays and re-enactments, mini-lectures on the Great War and a drop-in toy hospital for injured dolls, teddies and soldiers. In addition, PhD researcher Liz Blood will be discussing Leicester's unique war memorial in Victoria Park and how the Great War represented a shift in attitudes towards commemoration.

The University of Leicester is the only UK university that serves as a living memorial to the Great War – a connection made more poignant as the nation remembers the events of 1914 - 1918 as part of its centenary this year.

This week is Universities Week, which runs nationally between 9 – 15 June and celebrates the achievements and significance of university research and highlights the place of universities in society.

A microsite detailing all of the University’s events and activities commemorating the Great War can be found here